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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728934">And It Was All Yellow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/oilpainter/pseuds/oilpainter'>oilpainter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SKAM (Norway)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blood, Car Accidents, Hurt Even Bech Næsheim, Hurt Isak Valtersen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm so sorry for this, M/M, Major Character Injury, Panic Attacks, Possible Character Death, Post-Canon, Sad, Whump, Yellow Curtains (Skam)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:54:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,635</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22728934</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/oilpainter/pseuds/oilpainter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Even and Isak have a yellow car called Colonel Mustard. He ends up in the scrapheap.</p>
<p>Or, Even knows that the only way to have something for eternity is by losing it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Even Bech Næsheim/Isak Valtersen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>And It Was All Yellow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a day just like any other.</p>
<p>Even and Isak were headed to a summer party that Jonas was hosting as his parents were away for the weekend. The 99ers had finally graduated from Hartvig Nissen and it was a cause for celebration.</p>
<p>It had been a tough few months - Isak was stressed over exams and had been a bit snappy recently, and Even had been going through a bout of depression. It felt like they never had enough time to see each other so it was nice to have the long summer ahead of them, with time to just chill, watch movies, go to parties, and kiss.</p>
<p>Even had slept through the alarm for half an hour this morning and Isak hadn't been able to bring himself to wake him up. It was a rare moment of peace and it was nice to just lie there, running his hands through his boyfriend's hair and watching him sleep.</p>
<p>They had delayed the others though, so Eskild and Linn left without them, choosing to go by bus. Eskild had knocked on their door and woken Even up, then rolled his eyes and told them he and Linn planned to stop off at the shop for a birthday present for Vilde on the way anyway.</p>
<p>It had taken a lot of effort to get Even out of bed, but in the end Isak managed to entice him with the smell of cooking bacon coming from the kitchen. They got ready in record time, already knowing they'd be late, but not wanting to show up 2 hours late.</p>
<p>Finally, after a hunt for a lost sock, they made their way out to the street where Isak's new car was parked.</p>
<p>His dad had bought this cheap, second-hand car both for his birthday and as a present for passing his driving test. It wasn't the coolest car (it was an ugly shade of mustard yellow and didn't always start on the first try) but it got him from point A to B. Not to mention he felt incredibly grown up getting to drive Even around Oslo, and it would be very useful once he started studying at NTNU Trondheim.</p>
<p>Even was also insured on the car but Isak didn't feel like risking his life by letting his boyfriend drive today, thank you very much.</p>
<p>Of course, because it was their luck, near the end of their 30 minute journey they got stuck in a traffic jam on the outskirts of the city. Literally right around the corner from Jonas's house.</p>
<p>Isak groaned and banged his head on the steering wheel. "Come on," he moaned, and jumped as the horn beeped when his head hit it. "Oops."</p>
<p>Even rolled his eyes at his daft boyfriend and played around with his phone. "Stop being so impatient, I'm sure it'll clear up soon... look, we're moving!"</p>
<p>And indeed, the cars in front were starting to move along slowly, and Isak got his hopes up as he started the engine again and revved it. Then they stopped again and he sighed. Even leaned over and beeped the horn, making his boyfriend jump again. Isak stared at him, raising his eyebrows. "Didn't you just tell me to be patient?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, but... do as I say, not as I do." Even winked, and turned the phone camera towards his boyfriend, as it looked like there was no chance of them moving any time soon. "I guess we should find a way of entertaining ourselves, since we'll be here for a while..."</p>
<p>"Are you filming me?" Isak asked. "You know there's literally nothing interesting to film right now."</p>
<p>Even mimed a shushing gesture and pointed towards the camera, then counted down from three on his fingers and pressed record.</p>
<p>"Day fifteen stuck inside Colonel Mustard," Even narrated in a dramatic voice, zooming in uncomfortably close on Isak's face. "It seems unlikely that we will ever escape the motorway. Rations are running low and our water supply is down to one bottle. We've pissed in the rest of the empty bottles-"</p>
<p>"Oh kill me now," Isak groaned, half annoyed and half endeared by his boyfriend’s amateur dramatics.</p>
<p>Even continued, panning the phone camera around for a view of the other cars. An old lady in the next car over glanced at him weirdly. "- People in other cars have already wasted away on a diet of old, sticky mints and boiled sweets. Their corpses are left to rot in the midsummer heat. We have seen terrible things and know that the same fate awaits us. If this video diary is to reach civilisation after our death, please let the world know the danger of traffic jams-"</p>
<p>Isak snorted.</p>
<p>"- and send our love to our families. Tell them we fought bravely until the end, and that we will not have died in vain." Even focused the camera on Isak again, who pulled a face and stuck his tongue out. "Anything else to add, Isak?"</p>
<p>"God I love you, you overdramatic bastard-"</p>
<p>There was a commotion up ahead as several drivers in front beeped their horns angrily. Even filmed a man in the car in front shaking his fist and swearing at other drivers, and zoomed in as the volume of the yelling increased.</p>
<p>"They're alive!" he exclaimed excitedly. "We've found other survivors! We're saved! Hey, over here!"</p>
<p>Even started jumping up and down in his seat as much as he could, waving his arm around in the air. The old lady in the next car was now staring at him unashamedly.  </p>
<p>Isak blushed and leaned his head down on the steering wheel again, embarrassed for his boyfriend. But he still smiled fondly. He loved that Even didn't care so much about what other people thought of him and would make a fool of himself to keep Isak entertained.</p>
<p>And, it was nice to see him out of bed, smiling and happy (for the moment, at least. They were still taking it day by day).</p>
<p>Even's post-apocalyptic film was interrupted by his phone ringing. He put it on loudspeaker. "Oh, hey Elias," he said calmly, taking a sip from his coffee and wincing at the scalding temperature. He returned it to the cup holder. "Fuck," he muttered.</p>
<p>"Hei Even, what's up," came Elias's voice through the speaker. "Where are you guys? Linn and Eskild got here ages ago and said you'd be here soon. Jonas wants to give a speech or something and we got Vilde a birthday cake."</p>
<p>Isak sighed, again reminded of the frustration of being stuck in a traffic jam when they were at most 300 metres away from their destination. "We're near the 7-Eleven literally two streets away from Jonas's place but we've been stuck in a complete standstill for ten minutes and we don't even know why we're stuck, it's so infuriating-"</p>
<p>"Shit, you must be bored," Elias said sympathetically. "Even could get out and walk here but then Isak, you'd still have to find somewhere to park and that could take ages."</p>
<p>Isak looked at his boyfriend in alarm. "Please don't leave me," he begged with puppy dog eyes.</p>
<p>"No, I'm sure we'll get moving soon," Even said firmly. "Maybe another 20 minutes."</p>
<p>There were muffled sounds from the other end of the line for a moment as Elias presumably conveyed the message across. "Well, Sana says you guys are probably hungry so the both of us are coming round the corner to deliver some cupcakes straight to your car so you don't miss out. She says they're vegan chocolate cupcakes she made with Noora. They're really good, trust me, I've had six. And we'll see if we can find out what the cause of the pile up is too."</p>
<p>Even's stomach grumbled.</p>
<p>"Sure, sounds great." Isak smirked. "We're in the yellow car. It won't be hard to find us. It's the hideous rust bucket."</p>
<p>Even looked scandalised and patted the car's dashboard. "Don't listen to him, Colonel Mustard. I think you're beautiful."</p>
<p>"Your car has a name?" Sana inquired, sounding amused.</p>
<p>"Of course," Even replied. "So Isak is always inside Colonel Mustard and it sounds a bit gay."</p>
<p>"Wow, that's so gay," Elias snorted.</p>
<p>Isak sighed, wondering why he ever decided to put up with these idiots.</p>
<p>"- I tried to convince him to call his car Isak so that whenever I'm in his car I could say that I'm inside Isak," Even continued, then he lowered his voice to a whisper and covered the microphone.  "Which is my favourite place to be."</p>
<p>Isak blushed a furious red, hoping that Elias and Sana couldn't hear the quiet flirting. "Shut up," he hissed, trying not to laugh.</p>
<p>"But, sadly, Isak didn't want to name his car after himself," Even said brightly.</p>
<p>There was a silent pause. "Well, I think Colonel Mustard is a good name," Elias said. "We can see you from where we are now and it's definitely an awful shade of mustard yellow."</p>
<p>Isak looked up, searching for Elias and Sana, who were waving in their direction from further down the street.</p>
<p>"Hi!" Even shouted, rolling down the window and waving furiously back at them.</p>
<p>"Hey - it looks like we're about to start moving again," Isak said enthusiastically, starting the engine again and releasing the handbrake. He just wanted to get to the party already.</p>
<p>"Hallelujah," Even sighed.</p>
<p>While they were distracted talking to the Bakkoushes on the phone, the commotion on the other side of the road went largely unnoticed... until other drivers suddenly started beeping their horns and putting their hazard lights on.</p>
<p>"Everything good there?" Sana's worried voice came from the speaker. Then she took in a sharp intake of breath. "What the fuck... what's that lunatic doing?"</p>
<p>Even gave his boyfriend a concerned glance as cars in front started swerving to the right, even mounting the pavement. Something was wrong. "Yeah what's going on? I can't see-"</p>
<p>"Oh shit-!" Isak yelled, having seen the maniac on the other side of the road, swerving around and clearly drunk driving, and heading straight at them.</p>
<p>It was the most terrified Even had ever seen his boyfriend but he didn't have time to even think or say anything, or even know what was coming, before there was a roaring sound of acceleration, and the screech of tires on tarmac and Elias and Sana were screaming on the phone-</p>
<p>And then, pain, as the drunk driver slammed into them at 80kmph.</p>
<p>It didn't feel real.</p>
<p>Their seatbelts jolted, thankfully keeping them fastened in, preventing them from flying through the windscreen, but still giving them both whiplash-</p>
<p>The phone, still on, dropped from Even's hands, and he felt numb as he watched his legs getting crushed by metal and - what the hell just happened, he couldn't make a sound because he was too much in shock - he heard a crack of bone but didn't know if it was his or Isak's bones breaking, and there was immense pain in his head as the blood started to seep into his hair-</p>
<p>But the driver's side was the worst.</p>
<p>The car seemed to have folded in around Isak, encasing him in a deadly metal blanket which crushed his body. His legs had become lost in metal debris and a shard of glass from the window had lodged itself into his side.</p>
<p>Isak was the first one to make a sound after the stunned silence.</p>
<p>He gave a kind of rasping, breathless gasp that chilled Even to the bone... and after a short pause where the agony sunk in, all Even could hear were his boyfriend's pain-filled, heart-wrenching screams.  </p>
<p>It was his worst nightmare, to see his Isak like this - was this really happening?</p>
<p>What was going on?</p>
<p>Even was dizzy and his ears were ringing, his boyfriend's sobs and shouts panicking him-</p>
<p>Frozen in shock and adrenaline, he could feel nothing in his legs but this worried him more because,</p>
<p>because, he couldn't feel his legs-</p>
<p>what if he was paralysed forever and Isak was going to die and oh, God, oh, God-</p>
<p>Even tried to hold back the tears but he couldn't stop them and they mixed with the blood pouring down from his forehead, blurring his vision.</p>
<p>After a moment, the drunk driver swerved again, seemingly fine compared to them and not taking note of the enormous dent in his car's bonnet. Even watched the car speed away with hazy vision, wanting nothing more than to kill the man who had hurt his Isak. Cars behind started to beep again as the madman passed, a police car hot on his heels. The loud noise startled Isak, who had stopped screaming but was now having a full-on panic attack, clutching at his side. </p>
<p>"Is-Isak," Even croaked. "You'll be ok, it's ok, we'll be fine, don't worry-" It seemed like he was trying to comfort and calm himself more than his boyfriend, as both were now breathing heavily, tears streaming down both their faces.</p>
<p>Isak's eyes were wide. "I can't feel my-" he whimpered, then became choked up.</p>
<p>"Me neither," the older boy replied, closing his eyes against the nightmare which had suddenly unfolded right in front of him. "It's ok, it's not too bad and you'll be just fine, I promise. Just don't look down, can you do that for me, just stare straight ahead and - and count to ten and look at the birds in the trees and think of something happy, don’t look down..."</p>
<p>Isak choked on a sob.</p>
<p>"Don't close your eyes either," Even continued, whispering. "Stare straight ahead and watch the birds but don't you dare fall asleep on me, you can't leave me alone-"</p>
<p>"I don't want to die," Isak gasped.</p>
<p>There was-</p>
<p>so much blood.</p>
<p>The car seats were turning red and the steering wheel was covered in Isak's blood and Even couldn't breathe because they were going to die and there was nothing they could do about it-</p>
<p>Neither of them had energy to speak anymore. Even just watched his love, exhausted and in pain, watching carefully for any sign of unconsciousness creeping up on him. Isak's eyes were beginning to close... he looked dazed, and Even had never seen him look so lost, so helpless. What if Even just gave up too? They could go peacefully together and the pain would all be over...</p>
<p>A familiar voice brought them out of their crimson haze. It was coming from somewhere near his feet… the phone was still on!</p>
<p>"Isak! Even, can you hear me? Oh shit, oh holy shit," Elias was panicking on the phone. "You'll be ok, guys, we've called an ambulance and Sana is calling Jonas to tell him what happened... please be ok, fuck," he rambled breathlessly. "Please, one of you say something! Are you ok? We saw the accident from here and we're... running there right now."</p>
<p>Even groaned loudly, and even that small groan made his ribs and head hurt. "Elias... it hurts. Isak is..."</p>
<p>There was blood dripping down from Isak's hair to his closed eyes.</p>
<p>Sana's voice came through on loudspeaker. She was also breathing heavily, and the worry practically oozed out of her every word. "It's ok, Even, you'll both be just fine, I promise. The fire fighters are there right now to pull you from the car and an ambulance is on its way... you'll be ok."</p>
<p>"Sana - I can't feel my legs..." Even cried. His hands were shaking.</p>
<p>"Don't think about that," she said softly. "Just stay awake, ok? They're going to help you out of the car now and the paramedics will arrive in like two minutes. Look, we're right here, can you see us? We're not going anywhere, we'll go in the ambulance with you both."</p>
<p>Even blinked sweat (or blood) out of his eyes and glanced out of the shattered window to see his old friends on the side of the street, fear in their eyes. A team of firefighters were sawing away at metal to get into the driver's side of the car. "Isak passed out," he whispered, dazed. "I can't... stay conscious much longer..."</p>
<p>"Hey," Sana said comfortingly in the phone. "If you die I'll kill you both," she said, grimacing.</p>
<p>The oldest gave a small painful smile. "Funny," he murmured. Purple stars were dotting his vision - he felt dizzy, and nauseous now.</p>
<p>He must have blacked out for a while there because when he came to, Elias was shouting his name through the speaker.</p>
<p>"Hmm, what?" Even groaned. "I'm tired-"</p>
<p>"I know, I know," Elias said quietly. "Just please, keep your eyes open. Look, they've almost got you out..."</p>
<p>A firefighter cut away the last of the metal from Isak's door. There was a screeching noise and Even flinched, and when he blinked he was brought back to that terrifying moment of car hitting car and the screech of tires and brakes and he was going to die-</p>
<p>Even gasped, tears in his eyes as the pain hit him all over again. And it was worse the second time, the numbness leaving him.</p>
<p>"Can you hear me?" the firefighter asked. "We're going to get you out of there as soon as possible."</p>
<p>A gentle breeze came in through the gap where the door used to be, and the fleeting thought that Isak wouldn't be happy that Colonel Mustard was completely torn apart passed through Even's mind.</p>
<p>"Isak," was the only thing he managed to gasp out. His hands were shaking and his ears were ringing. His mouth was dry. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off it felt like his pain had doubled.</p>
<p>"Is that your friend's name?" she asked calmly, working hard at undoing Isak's stuck seatbelt, moving and tilting his chair back to give her more room to manoeuvre him out. Even shook his head no, knowing his concussion and shock were muddling up all his thoughts. "We're going to get him out first as he was hit the worst and is the most at risk - it should only take a few minutes. We're going to get him straight onto a stretcher and into an ambulance, then you'll follow in another ambulance. Your job is just to stay still, don't move your neck and do your best to stay conscious. Can you do that for me?"</p>
<p>Even just blinked, not taking it all in. "No, he's my boyfriend," he whispered in response to the earlier question. "Isak."</p>
<p>"Your boyfriend, hmm? And what's your name?" she asked kindly.</p>
<p>"Isak," Even murmured, knowing that wasn't his own name, but like a broken record it was all he could say. It was all he could think. He tried twisting round to hold his boyfriend's hand, or to see if he was awake yet, but the firefighter leaned over and held him in place securely, not letting him move. He was trembling all over now.</p>
<p>"No, no, don't move. We don't want you to hurt yourself further. I know you're in pain but you need to stay exactly where you are for now until we can reach you."</p>
<p>"Ok," Even murmured, with tears in his eyes. "I'm... Even."</p>
<p>"Alright Even, we're almost done here, then we can work on getting you out."</p>
<p>"He has a very serious head injury," the second firefighter said, and he and his colleague started to lift Isak carefully out of the driver seat. His arms flopped down limply and Even flinched. He couldn't tell if Isak was breathing from here. He watched his chest, waiting for signs, but he was dizzy and seeing two of everything and couldn't tell if Isak's chest was moving or not-</p>
<p>"Is he - is he -" Even sobbed.</p>
<p>"He's breathing," the woman said. "We're going to leave him in the very capable hands of the paramedics now."</p>
<p>"He - has a piece of glass in him-" Even was nearly hyperventilating. "I can't feel my legs."</p>
<p>The firefighters shared a worried glance and slowly lifted Isak onto the waiting stretcher.</p>
<p>There was a constant sound of metal grinding on metal coming from above him - it sounded like the team of firefighters were trying to cut through the car roof to get to Even, given that his passenger door was stuck closed on the side of the car in the right lane.</p>
<p>God, he didn't even know what happened to the people in the car next to him, and the one behind, surely the car behind was smashed up too as they'd been pushed backwards in the collision?</p>
<p>"Isak - love you," Even whispered as his boyfriend's stretcher went out of view and he was taken onto an ambulance. Not that Isak could hear him anyway - but he didn't know when he'd see him next, or whether this would be his goodbye.</p>
<p>Even couldn't remember at what point the phone call with Sana and Elias had ended but he could see them looking anxious out of the corner of his eye, maybe quietly arguing - but then Sana gave her brother an embrace, her face streaked with tears, and hopped onto Isak's ambulance to ride with him to the hospital. Elias stood out of the way of the paramedics and firefighters, biting his nails and looking like he also might burst into tears. He looked pale.</p>
<p>Even wondered if there was a parallel universe out there where the curtains were yellow, and Isak’s car wasn’t yellow, and he had woken up an hour earlier today and they’d got to the party in time and were singing happy birthday to Vilde right now…</p>
<p>The grinding metal on metal sound from above stopped suddenly and was replaced by that familiar screeching and Even felt like he might vomit-</p>
<p>Then, as soon as he felt hands lifting him up carefully and paramedics shouting orders, he fell into the blissful relief of unconsciousness.</p>
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